Weekly News Update

*The U.S. Supreme Court declined Monday to hear a case challenging New York City’s right to bar religious groups from worshiping in public school buildings, signaling an end to a decades-long legal battle over the policy. [Wall Street Journal]

*U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez of New Jersey pleaded not guilty to federal corruption charges in Newark court Thursday, a day after he was indicted on bribery and conspiracy offenses in connection with an ongoing investigation into his business dealings with a Florida doctor. [NBC New York]

*Ekaterina Schoenefeld, a lawyer licensed in both NY and NJ, was surprised to find out that nonresident attorneys must keep a physical office in the State of New York in order to practice there. She was so outraged by the news that she filed a federal lawsuit against the State of New York, alleging a violation of the Privileges and Immunities Clause of the U.S. Constitution. [FindLaw]

*The Taxi of Tomorrow is delayed yet again. The planned rollout this month of a standard vehicle for New York City’s yellow taxi fleet was halted on Tuesday by the state’s Court of Appeals. The court granted a stay in a continuing appeal over the vehicle. [NY Times]

*A new ethics measure will force state lawmakers to disclose their private law clients for the first time, but will continue to allow lawmakers to collect salaries from outside firms even when they do not represent specific clients. The ethics law was a key component of a $150 billion state budget lawmakers began voting on this week. [Newsday]

*A group of taxi companies sued New York claiming the city is wrongfully allowing Uber Technologies Inc. customers to hail rides with an app. Current law permits only yellow taxis with valid medallions to accept hails, regardless of whether they’re street hails or “e-hails” from a smartphone, the group said Tuesday in a complaint in state court in Manhattan. [Bloomberg]

*An upstate New York woman vowed to disobey a judge’s orders to send her child to visit his ne’er-do-well father in prison, saying she’d rather go to jail than connect the boy with the biological dad. [NY Daily News]

*Law school enrollment has plummeted to the lowest level in decades. If a bottom has been reached, is now a good time to go to law school? Some say no — not now and possibly never. Several new studies, however, point to signs of vigorous life in the legal job market, at least toward the higher end. [NY Times]